The SCORE 2016 Issue 1 | Page 22

A Billion-Dollar Problem: Recognizing and Preventing Foodborne Illness Outbreaks by Kelly Bingham T 2016 Issue 1 | THE SCORE 20 he Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that every year, one out of six Americans — about 48 million people — gets sick from contaminated food or beverages. Foodborne illness is a serious public health issue, as well as a giant economic burden. Acute foodborne illnesses are estimated to cost the United States an estimated $152 billion annually in health care, workplace and other economic losses, according to a study by Pew Charitable Trusts. Following last year’s widely reported outbreak of E. coli at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants, the public was understandably concerned about food safety. In a survey by Packaged Stats, three out of four Americans (about 74 percent) felt quick service restaurants should do more to monitor food safety or aren’t doing enough to address issues. Forty-six percent of people said their concern about food safety has increased. With the recent media coverage of foodborne illness outbreaks at various restaurants, it’s clear that excellent food safety is paramount to good business. The best offense is a good defense. Food safety is not a new priority for Buffalo Wild Wings®. The company employs a team of food safety staff at the corporate level that is responsible for overseeing food safety throughout the supply chain, as well as the execution of standards and procedures at the corporate restaurant level. The team has now begun overseeing third-party food safety audit results of franchise restaurants. The process begins with sourcing quality ingredients from suppliers. Vendors go through a rigorous review before becoming suppliers for Buffalo Wild Wings and then undergo annual evaluations for approval. They are evaluated on a host of parameters, including how they produce their food, previous recalls for products and warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All suppliers are required to have a food safety audit that is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative. In addition, suppliers are monitored according to product category. For example, ready-to-eat product suppliers must undergo scrutiny of their processes to monitor pathogens, while vendors supplying a mixed-spice product must share how they segregate food allergens during production. Food safety staff also perform on-site audits of multiple Buffalo Wild Wings suppliers. Each supplier facility is assigned a risk score. Products like raw meats will be inherently more at-risk of foodborne pathogens than other products. Based on